Cartridge for protecting a data carrier

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a cartridge ( 4 ) for a data carrier ( 3 ) comprising two flexible halves ( 4   a - 4   b ) for protecting the data carrier. The flexible halves comprise means for disassembling the halves when the data carrier is inserted into a device ( 1 ) for processing the data carrier and for reassembling said halves when the data carrier is removed from said device. In an embodiment of the invention, the cartridge halves are rolled up by rolling-up means ( 2   a - 2   b ) included in the cartridge or in the processing device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cartridge for protecting a datacarrier in a dirty and damaging environment.

The present invention also relates to device for processing saidcartridge and to a recording and/or reproducing device comprising saidprocessing device.

This invention is particularly relevant for optical discs and moreparticularly for small form factor optical SFFO discs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional disc cartridges can be relatively thick. They typicallyhave a thickness of at least 2 to 3 times the disc thickness. Such acartridge is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,710.

As we are mainly considering a small form factor optical SFFO driveapplication here, a disc has dimensions of roughly 30 mm diameter and0.5 mm thickness. Taking into account the best plastic moldingtechnology, one would end up by adding two times 0.3 mm of plasticcover, two times an air gap of typically 0.2 mm and maybe even a sliderto open the cartridge. This would give a cartridge thickness of about1.5 to 2 mm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to propose a cartridge for protecting asmall form factor optical disc in a dirty and damaging environment whichhas a very small contribution to the height of the device for processingthe data carrier, i.e. the disc drive.

To this end, the cartridge in accordance with the invention comprisestwo flexible halves for protecting the data carrier. Said flexiblehalves comprise means for disassembling said halves when the datacarrier is inserted into a device for processing said data carrier andfor reassembling the halves when the data carrier is removed from saiddevice.

Thanks to the disassembling-reassembling means, the cartridge halves canbe separated outside the device for processing the data carrier. As aconsequence, only the data carrier is inserted into said processingdevice and adds to the height of the processing device.

In a first embodiment, the halves are rolled up thanks to rolling-upmeans included in the cartridge or in the processing device.

In another embodiment, the halves are stored locally in that they areshifted into two compartments on either side of the processing device.

When the data carrier is in the cartridge, the two cartridge halves areheld together thanks to the disassembling-reassembling means such as anadhesive layer, plastic-bonded ferrite material combined with a ridgeand counter-ridge, or a zipper-like structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in more detail, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts how an optical disc contained in a cartridge is insertedinto an optical drive, according to a first embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of rolling-up means in accordance withthe first embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cartridge and its correspondingprocessing device in accordance with the first embodiment of theinvention,

FIG. 4 depicts how an optical disc contained in a cartridge is insertedinto an optical drive, according to a second embodiment of theinvention,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cartridge in accordance with theinvention,

FIG. 6 shows an example of means for disassembling and reassembling thehalves of a cartridge using adhesive strips,

FIGS. 7 a and 7 b show two examples of means for disassembling andreassembling the halves of a cartridge using magnetic strips, and

FIG. 8 shows an example of means for disassembling and reassembling thehalves of a cartridge using a zipper-like structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cartridge for a data carrier of thesmall form factor optical SFFO disc type, for example. Said cartridgecomprises two flexible halves for protecting the data carrier. It willbe apparent to a person skilled in the art that the invention is notlimited to SFFO discs but is equally applicable to cartridges capable ofcontaining all types of data carrier that are exposed to a dirty anddamaging environment.

The halves of the cartridge in accordance with the invention aredisassembled when the data carrier is inserted into a device forprocessing the data carrier and reassembled when the data carrier isremoved from said device. The processing device is an optical drive inthe case of an optical disc.

FIG. 1 depicts an optical drive (1) having a loading space (2) throughwhich a disc can be loaded. The loading space has two rollers (2 a-2 b)onto which the flexible halves of a cartridge (4) containing a disc (3)may roll up. This automatically inserts the disc into the optical drive.At the same time, the thin flexible halves that surround the disc arestored on the rollers.

An important aspect of the invention is that the cartridge is made of aflexible, transparent or non-transparent material like rubber, plastic,or an equivalent material. In order to be robust, the material iswear-resistant and may or may not be covered with special protectivelayers.

An advantage of the present invention is that the cartridge covering thedisc does not enter the disc drive or is stored in a small part of saiddisc drive. The building height of the drive can then be reduced withrespect to a solution with a conventional cartridge technology.Moreover, the cartridge halves roll up just outside the disc drive,thereby taking up a minimum of space.

For a small form factor optical drive, the present invention typicallyaims at a building height of the complete drive of 5 mm, which is alsothe height of PCMCIA type II and Compact Flash type II interfaces. Byusing highly miniaturized optical and mechanical components, this can berealized in conventional cartridge technology. This is easier to attainwith a cartridge in accordance with the present invention, andultimately the 5 mm barrier can be lowered towards a 4 to 3 mm buildingheight, whereas a compact flash type I has a building height of 3.3 mm.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the complete surfacearea of the cartridge can be available for labeling purposes.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, the rolling-up means (2) arean intrinsic part of the optical drive (1) and comprise means forgripping the halves of the cartridge in order to roll them up. Thegripping means are, for example, a groove (6) provided within therollers as depicted in FIG. 2 and in the perspective view of FIG. 3,said groove being able to receive a corresponding projection (7) of thehalves. The rolling-up means are supplied by conventional electric means(5).

In another embodiment of the invention, the rolling-up means (2) are anintrinsic part of the cartridge.

Still in another embodiment of the invention, depicted in FIG. 4, thetwo flexible halves covering the disc are stored locally without beingrolled up. In our example, the halves are shifted into two compartments(10 a-10 b) outside the drive (1) thanks to the use of a roller (9 a,9b) capable of guiding each half linearly.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cartridge comprising a flexibleplastic cover (4 a,4 b) in which the disc (3) is placed as, for example,in an envelope. The disc (3) is taken from the cartridge by rolling-upor shifting of the two flexible plastic sheets (4 a-4 b), as wasdescribed above. Typically, the two halves are sealed at the back-end(11) of the cartridge.

The cartridge shown in FIG. 5 is made more robust when the two cartridgehalves (4 a-4 b) stick together when holding the cartridge. Indeed, ifthe cartridge is carried about in a pocket trouser, the sides are notallowed to fold up, as this will expose the disc to dust and make itmore sensitive to damage.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, the cartridge halves (4 a-4b) are held together by some adhesive layer. In FIG. 6, each half of thecartridge comprises shaded areas (14 a,14 b), which are sticky strips inthis case.

In another specific embodiment of the invention, also represented inFIG. 6, a ridge (12) is made in the front end of a first half of thecartridge, said ridge corresponding to a groove (13) in the second halfof the cartridge, the ridge and groove being such that the cartridgehalves cannot shift with respect to each other.

In another specific embodiment of the invention, the halves are heldtogether by magnetic force instead of adhesive layers. The shaded areasin FIG. 6 (14 a-14 b) are then made of, for example, plastic-bondedferrite. This material is flexible and is widely used in, for example,magnetic seals of doors of refrigerators. This material is magnetized toform magnetic strips. In order to increase the sticking force of thesemagnetic strips, it is advantageous to apply a magnetic pattern in oneor both strips. In a specific embodiment, the magnetic patterns in bothstrips coincide, as shown in FIG. 7 a in which an arrow indicates thedirection of magnetization, and form a periodic pattern along alongitudinal direction of both strips. In another embodiment, a periodicstrip is made in one of the strips and the other strip is made of a softmagnetic material as shown in FIG. 7 b. It will be apparent to a personskilled in the art that other patterns over the length and widthdirections of the strips can be envisaged so as to have an optimizedsticking force.

In another specific embodiment of the invention, the cartridge comprisesa zipper-like mechanical structure as shown in FIG. 8. Here a frontridge is defined using a groove (15) over most of the front edge, saidgroove being made in the first half of the cartridge, and acorresponding ridge (16) in the second half of the cartridge. Twocorresponding sides of the halves of the cartridge are held together bysmall protuberances (17 a) and cavities (17 b) that fit together. FIG. 8schematically shows a zipper-like structure to open and close thecartridge. As is not shown in this Figure, but in reality is often thecase is that both halves come loose when they are bend. This is thebasic principle of a ‘zipper’ mechanism.

Any reference sign in the following claims should not be construed aslimiting the claim. It will be obvious that the use of the verb “tocomprise” and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of anyother elements besides those defined in any claim. The word “a” or “an”preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality ofsuch elements.

1. A cartridge (4) for a data carrier (3) comprising two flexible halves(4 a-4 b) for protecting the data carrier, said flexible halvescomprising means for disassembling said halves when the data carrier isinserted into a device (1) for processing the data carrier and forreassembling the halves when the data carrier is removed from saiddevice, said cartridge further comprising means for rolling-up (2 a-2 b)the flexible halves.
 2. A cartridge (4) as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe disassembling-reassembling means (14 a-14 b) comprise adhesivelayers.
 3. A cartridge (4) as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedisassembling-reassembling means (14 a-14 b) comprise a magnetizedplastic-bonded material.
 4. A cartridge (4) as claimed in claim 1,wherein the disassembling-reassembling means comprise protuberances (17a) and cavities (17 b) capable of making the halves of the cartridge fittogether.
 5. A cartridge (4) as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedisassembling-reassembling means (14 a-14 b,17 a-17 b) comprise a ridge(12,16) and a groove (13,15).
 6. A device for processing (1) a cartridge(4) for a data carrier (3) comprising two flexible halves (4 a,4 b) forprotecting the data carrier, the flexible halves comprising means fordisassembling said halves when the data carrier is inserted into theprocessing device and for reassembling the halves when the data carrieris removed from the processing device, the processing device comprisingmeans for receiving (2 a-2 b,9 a-9 b-10 a-10 b) the flexible halves,said processing device (1) comprising means for rolling-up (2 a-2 b) theflexible halves.
 7. A recording and/or reproducing device comprising aprocessing device (1) as claimed in claim 6.